


Over the Edge

by evilwriter37



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Broken Bones, Gen, Injury, Severe Injury, Whump, hiccup!whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-13 04:20:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15356121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evilwriter37/pseuds/evilwriter37
Summary: Hanging off the edge of a cliff with nothing to hold onto but Astrid, Hiccup decides to let go to give her a chance to climb back up, sure that the fall will kill him. He miraculously survives, but breaks multiple bones, and there's something out there in the forest interested in him as food.





	Over the Edge

Hiccup looked below him. Usually height didn’t bother him. Usually he had a dragon. But right now, he didn’t have one, and so the height was making panic clutch at his chest. All he had was Astrid’s hold on his forearm and his on hers. The fight with the Dragon Hunters had put them on the edge of a cliff, and dodging a few crossbow bolts had sent them both over the side. Astrid had been able to grab onto the cliff, but Hiccup had been too far away, sure he would fall. Astrid had caught him, and now there they were, listening to the sounds of the other Dragon Riders fighting above. Stormfly and Toothless were both busy in the battle, and probably hadn’t seen them go off the edge.

“Hiccup, don’t look down!” Astrid cried. “Just hold onto me, okay?”

Hiccup directed his gaze upwards, to where Astrid only had one hand hanging onto the rocky edge to keep them both from falling into the trees down below them. Hiccup was sure that a fall from this height would kill them.

Hiccup was looking around, trying to figure a way out of this. Astrid couldn’t swing him towards the cliff in order to release him and let the both of them climb back up separately. It curved away from them, and he’d never reach it. There was nothing Hiccup could hold onto except for Astrid, but she couldn’t keep this up forever. Looking back up at her, he could see her arm shaking with the strain of holding both their weights. He made a decision.

“Astrid, you have to let me go.”

“ _ What? _ ”

“They’re still fighting up there. You can’t hold the both of us long enough,” Hiccup explained. “If you let go of me, you can climb back up.”

“Hiccup, a fall from here will kill you!”

Hiccup was looking down again, his stomach bottoming out, but he held fast to his decision that would save Astrid’s life if not his own.

“We don’t know that,” he told her. He didn’t want her to realize that he knew he was going to his death and was doing it anyway. He met her terrified gaze. “If you don’t let me go, then we’re both going to fall.”

Astrid tightened her grip on him, face set in determination. “I’m not doing it.”

Hiccup was determined as well. He couldn’t let them  _ both  _ go down. He let go of Astrid, now only supported by her hold, and reached for his dagger.

“Hiccup, what are you doing?!” Astrid shouted as Hiccup drew the dagger and began cutting away at the leather brace Astrid was holding him by.

Hiccup was trying not to think too much about what he was doing, or else his courage would falter. He had to hope that maybe he wouldn’t die, that maybe he would survive this. There was an ache in his throat.

“Saving you.” He was almost done cutting through, and he looked into Astrid’s eyes for probably the last time, heart thudding so fast, like it was trying to make up for all the beats it was going to miss when he was dead. “Take care of Toothless for me.”

“Hiccup, no!”

Hiccup didn’t heed her words, finished cutting through the brace. He closed his eyes, and then he was plummeting. He didn’t yell or scream or flail as the ground rushed up at him and the the wind whipped at him. He imagined he was flying instead of falling, and that made the whole thing not seem so bad. The only differences were that he was without Toothless and Astrid was screaming his name.

 

 

 

Astrid hauled herself up the side of the cliff, Hiccup’s leather arm brace clutched tightly in one hand. The sounds of battle were fading, and she just stayed there on all fours, breathing hard and trying not to scream, tears streaming from her tightly shut eyes. In her head all she could see was Hiccup falling silently, then disappearing from view as he hit the trees. She didn’t know if he’d made a sound or not at the impact. All she could focus on was him falling.

There was an odd whimpering noise, and it took her a few moments to realize that it was coming from her. Then it was quiet save for that.

“Astrid! Astrid, what happened?!” That was Fishlegs’ voice, and then she could hear her friends running over.

Astrid couldn’t get the breath to explain, sobbing now, everything in her aching. She shoved the cut leather brace out towards them in way of an explanation.

“What? Where’s Hiccup?” Snotlout, sounding terrified.

“M-made me let go,” Astrid forced out. She pointed behind her, over the edge of the cliff. “F-fell.”

“ _ What?! _ ” most of the Dragon Riders yelled in unison. Arms went around Astrid - Ruffnut’s - and gently pulled her to her feet. Astrid just leaned into her, crying on her shoulder.

“We have to go get him!” Tuffnut shouted.

“Prob-probably dead,” Astrid heaved.

“No! No way he’s dead!” Snotlout shouted. Astrid opened her eyes and through blurred vision saw Snotlout go over to the edge of the cliff and look down. A very quiet, defeated “oh” left him.

“We have to go get him anyway,” Fishlegs said quietly. “Alive o-or…” He clearly couldn’t finish, and Astrid couldn’t blame him.

Astrid did want to go find Hiccup, but she was afraid of what they would see. His body would be mangled and ruined, but they  _ had  _ to go get him. She looked around, saw Toothless watching the whole scene with big, confused eyes. Fishlegs was holding Hiccup’s brace, and Toothless went over, made a sad cooing noise while nuzzling his face against it. That took Astrid’s already broken heart and shattered it, crushed it to dust.

She pulled away from Ruffnut’s embrace, wiped her eyes, and went over to Toothless, laid a hand on his head. She didn’t know how she spoke through the aching in her throat.

“We’ll go find him, alright?” 

 

 

 

Hiccup decided that he wasn’t dead. He was sure that had he been in Valhalla or some other realm of the afterlife, he wouldn’t be feeling this pain. His head felt like it was being pounded by a hammer, and it seemed like that same hammer had smashed his left arm, right hand, right leg, a shoulder - or maybe both - and his ribs. He groaned pitifully, somehow made himself open his eyes. Above him: a canopy of leaves that had a hole about his size torn right through it, then blue sky, and the cliff. He’d somehow survived the fall. He hadn’t expected that, especially not when he’d hit the ground and there had been mind-shattering agony that had stolen his breath, and then black. 

He didn’t know why, but despite what he was feeling, he tried to move. Fresh pain spiked at his nerves and he cried out, choked on his own breath. Bones were surely broken, maybe even shattered. He was mostly breathing okay though and there was no blood coming up in his mouth, so his ribs couldn’t have been too bad. Or at least, they hadn’t pierced his lungs or anything else important. 

Hiccup just looked up at the sky, refusing to look at the damage to his body. Things felt bent and twisted in the wrong way and he didn’t want to see. He didn’t have the energy to sick up if what he saw was particularly bad, and that would only make everything hurt more.

Hiccup wondered how he had even survived a fall like that. At first he was grateful, but as the time passed at an agonizing crawl, he began to change his mind. There was nothing but the pain, and no way to make it stop. That was all he wanted at the moment, and if he had been dead, he wouldn’t be feeling this. It was a torment of a miracle that he was still breathing. 

Hiccup closed his eyes, gritted his teeth. A moan slipped past his clenched jaw, and he hated his every breath. His existence was simply hurting. He wondered when his friends would come for him. Surely they would, even if they believed he was dead. They’d come for him, and he’d crash back into unconsciousness at being put on a dragon’s back. It would be a new anguish at first, but then there would be darkness and peace, and he longed for that. 

He lost himself to the throbbing and the aching and the stabbing. There was a rhythm to it. It would swell, crest, come back down, swell again, and he tried to figure out how to ride it. If he couldn’t stop it he could at least find a way to endure it. Find the pattern. Stay with it. Brace for it. Breathe.

Hiccup was broken from his excruciating reverie by a sound to his left. A rustle. His heart went into his throat and his eyes flew open, frantically looking around. He wasn’t alone out here.

_ Snap! _

To his right. He turned his head as best he could, squinted into the gloom of the forest around him that was only broken by the halo of light from the opening he’d created above. The sounds were coming from outside that light, and he found that focusing seemed to make his head hurt more.

Hiccup wasn’t going to wait and find out what was out there. He had to move somehow. He supposed he could use the left side of his body to crawl, given that it wasn’t hurting as much as the right and was therefore probably more functional. His left arm was definitely broken, but he at least had the use of his hand, something he didn’t have with his right arm. 

Gasping through the pain, momentarily going blind from it, Hiccup forced himself onto his stomach. Once there, he needed a few moments to acclimate himself to this new position. The sounds of movement in the bushes had yet to cease. Something was out there that appeared to be interested in him, probably as food. He was helpless and would be easy to kill.

Hiccup had to somehow make himself move his left arm. He clenched his jaw before attempting to do so. He grunted when he did as agony assaulted his nerves, but he couldn’t let that stop him. He dug his fingers into the grass above him and pulled as best as he could while pushing himself with his prosthetic. A grating screech worked its way up from his throat at the action, though he managed to move a few inches. He wanted to stop, just lay down and give up, but he had to keep on, had to find some sort of safety from whatever was out there probably ready to eat him. Maybe whatever it was wouldn’t actively try to kill him and was waiting for him to die on his own. He could only hope for that. He gathered his strength and moved his arm again, clutched at the grass, and pulled himself further into torment. 

 

 

 

Hiccup had spotted a small opening near the base of the cliff he’d fallen from, though it wasn’t straight from where he’d been, and he had to cross a stream to get there. It would work as shelter. 

Groaning, tears leaking down his face, he dragged himself into the stream. The water was bitingly cold, and he knew it wasn’t exactly good for himself, but he rested there for a while, hoping that it would serve to lower some of the pain of his injuries. Besides, he needed to catch his breath anyway.

Rustling, footsteps. Hiccup looked behind him. He’d come out of the cover of the trees, and now his hunters had as well. There were three Speed Stingers approaching him.

_ Shit. _

He didn’t move though, the current rippling around him and beginning to make his injuries go numb. Why hadn’t they just gotten him already? He was moving slowly, and a Speed Stinger was faster than a human who could use both their legs, never mind one that was crawling. They could have paralyzed and killed him by now.

The dragons stopped by the stream, watching him, making different noises to communicate with each other. Maybe they were confused by him, or maybe they were waiting for him to just stop moving all on his own to save their paralyzing venom. Then they’d eat him alive.

Terror clutched at Hiccup’s chest and got him moving again. He yelled in both pain and frustration as he moved his broken left arm and dragged himself forward. Though, the pain wasn’t as bad, the cold water of the stream having done its work to numb him a little. Luckily, he was still left with movement.

The dragons followed at a steady pace as he pulled himself out of the stream. Hiccup was lucky that they hadn’t surrounded him to cut off his escape, and were instead staying behind. Maybe they hadn’t seen the cave he was heading for… if it could be even called that. It was just a hole in the side of the cliff that he’d be able to fit into. He wouldn’t have fit standing up.

Hiccup screamed through gritted teeth as he struggled to get there. His wounds throbbed with every quick beat of his heart and he felt like he was going to pass out. He’d wanted that earlier, but if he lost consciousness now he was doomed.

_ Come on, come on. _

Hiccup pulled himself into the hole, gasping, his breaths putting fire into his ribs. He wanted to just lay there and never get up again, but he couldn’t do that. Somehow, panting and moaning and crying out the whole way, he got himself sitting up and pushed himself to the back of the hole. He watched through half-lidded eyes as the Speed Stingers came closer. One reached a snout inside, snapped at him, and the teeth were just inches from him, but it couldn’t reach. It kept trying though, and maybe in time it would reach him. Maybe all he’d done was move his resting place from the forest to a hole in the side of the cliff he’d fallen from.

 

 

 

Astrid stared perplexed at the empty spot on the ground beneath the hole in the canopy of leaves.  There were broken branches and blood, so surely Hiccup had to have fallen here, but where was his body?

Then it hit her.

He wasn’t dead.

He wasn’t  _ dead. _ Hiccup was alive!

Hope swelled in Astrid’s chest, pushing out the pain. The other Dragon Riders seemed to have made the same realization as her.

“He’s not dead!” Astrid proclaimed.

“Okay, well, if he’s not dead, then where is he?” Snotlout removed one hand from Hookfang and gestured to the empty spot on the ground. “Why’d he move?”

“Hmm…” Fishlegs mused, hopping off of Meatlug, eyes to the ground. Toothless, who was being ridden by Astrid for the time being, began sniffing around.

“Oh Thor, that’s not good.”

“What is it, Fishlegs?” Astrid directed Toothless over to him, looked down at what had his attention. At first she couldn’t see it distinctly, but then he pointed.

“Footprints,” he said. “Speed Stingers found him.”

“So he’s dead again?” Tuffnut asked.

“Shut up, Tuffnut!” Astrid snapped. “Fishlegs, get back on Meatlug. We’re going to find him. He’ll have left a clear trail for Stormfly to follow.” Astrid could only hope that they would get to him in time.

 

 

Hiccup had wedged himself back as far as he could, and still, those teeth were snapping at him and those tails were jabbing. He had yet to be struck by anything, but he knew it was only a matter of time.

He wasn’t used to doing this, not in any way, but, he gave up. He closed his eyes and rested his pounding head back against the rock. He supposed now he was simply waiting for death.

Hiccup perked up when a familiar whistling sound suddenly reached his ears. Then there was a flash of purple light that he simply ducked his head into his shoulder to shield his eyes from. Familiar calls of his name reached him next.

“I’m in here!” he called out hoarsely. Excitement and relief gushed through him, but then he realized in disappointment that he’d have to get himself out of the hole. There was no space for anyone to help him, and he was too hurt for someone to just grab him and drag him out.

The sunlight was blocked out and Astrid ducked her head inside. Despite the pain, Hiccup had it in himself to smile at her. He’d thought her face would be the last one he’d ever see, and now here he was, seeing it again.

“Hiccup!” she shouted excitedly. “Are you okay? Let’s get you out of there!”

“Wait, wait. I have to get out on my own. T-too hurt for someone to just drag me out.”

Astrid backed away from the hole. “Okay, you can do it, Hiccup. We’re all right here.”

At the moment, Hiccup really didn’t feel like he could do it, but all his friends were waiting for him once he got out and he’d be okay. He just had to go through this first.

Hiccup tried not to scream when he moved, not wanting to scare anybody, but it came out of him anyway. He somehow got onto his stomach again, and went to drag himself out of the hole. He missed when moving didn’t hurt so much. He felt like he was just completely enveloped in pain and like it would never stop. How could the human body recover from something like this?

“No one grab my hand,” Hiccup hissed out as he neared the entrance of the hole. “My arm’s broken.”

“What about your other hand?” Ruffnut asked. He could see all of them now, surrounding the hole but giving him enough space to get out. They all wore mixed expressions of concern and relief. He understood that. They were relieved to see him alive, but concerned about the state he was in.

“Broken,” Hiccup answered. He wanted to take a break, to just stop moving, but if he did that, he wouldn’t continue moving again. He yelled, yanked his left arm forward, grabbed at the ground outside of the hole, and pulled. He was about halfway out now.

“Come on, Hiccup,” Fishlegs coaxed gently. “You’re almost there.”

Hiccup wished they could just grab him and pull him out, wished desperately for it, but that would just injure him further. He could do this. Just one more drag and push of his body, and luckily, the ground outside of the hole sloped downwards a little, so he would just slide right out.

With a groan, Hiccup grabbed ahold of the grass, pushed as hard as he could with his prosthetic, and tugged. He spilled out of the hole at his friends’ feet, crying from agony and relief. They all knelt by him, and Astrid stroked at his hair and the back of his neck.

“It’s okay, Hiccup,” she told him. “We’ve got you. We’re here.”

Hiccup sobbed, choked on the pain that caused him. Gods, he was so happy they were all here. He was utterly exhausted and spent, and he doubted he could move anymore on his own. He didn’t have to now. His friends would take care of him.

“Dude, how’d you even survive that fall?” Snotlout asked.

For some reason, Hiccup laughed a little. “I have no idea, Snotlout.”

“Hiccup, I told you not to do that,” Astrid said. “I could have pulled us both up somehow.”

“No you couldn’t have,” Hiccup responded. “Y-your arm was shaking. You would have fallen too. Then we both would have b-been in this mess.”

“Gods, Hiccup, you’re crazy,” Tuffnut said. “You could have died!”

“Well, I didn’t, did I?”

Astrid made a sound that Hiccup realized was a sob. She was crying with relief. “No, Hiccup. No you didn’t.”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough talking,” Fishlegs cut in. “Let’s get you back to Berk.”

Hiccup had never been so happy to hear those words in his life.


End file.
